Reverse gear



Nov. 24, 1931. J. T. CARROLL REVERSE GEAR Filed May 12, 1926 3Sheets-Sheet l NOV 24, 1931. CARRQLL 1,833,483

REVERSE GEAR Filed y 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 24, 1931. J. T. CARROLLREVERSE GEAR Filed May 12, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A TTOKNE Y5 IN VFNTORlbw/4 Patented Nov. 24, 1931 UNITED PATE 'JOHN' T. CARROLL, OFBALTIMORE,- MARYLAND, ASSIG-NOR TO FRANKLIN RAILWAY SUPPLY COMPANY, OFNEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE REVERSE GEAR Applicationfiled May 12, 1926. Serial No. 108,465.

' 10 pressure cylinder and alow pressure cylinder with the exhaust fromthe former g'oing'to thelatter. V

' I aim to improve the operation of such 10- comotives by permitting oneset of cylinders to be'run with a cutoff different from that of theother, according to what is required for the most economical or'eflicient operation of the locomotive at the time.

For instance, in a double engine, difliculty is sometimes had inpreventing the front engine from slipping, and, withthe reverse gearequipment now'in use, a shortening of the cut-0E to control thisslippage at the same time operates to limit the work being done by thesecond engine. Also, in compound engines, if a short cut-off were beingused, the amount of steam reaching the receiver would be smaller than ifalonger cut-oft were being used, although there might, at the same time,be many conditions under which it would be desirable to keep thereceiver pressure up to some higher point. Withmyinventiomthe'foregoingdifliculties can be overcome, for I provide adouble reverse gear equipment with" which it is possible to'work thefront engine of a double locomotive at av shorter cut-off than thesecond engine, or to so proportion the cut-offs of a compound engine asto maintain any desired pressure in the receiver. How the foregoingandother advantages can be realized through the invention will appearfrom my description'of a selected and preferred embodiment.

In the drawings 7 Fig.1 is a fragmentary and diagrammatic side view ofalccomotive equipped with a double reverse gear conveniently embodyingmy invention. V

Fig. 2 is aside View of the hand levers for operating the gear shown inFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view at right angles to Fig. 2, from the left of thatfigure.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic sideview of a locomotive including a showing ofcylinders of two sets with portions of their associated valve mechanismsand the connection from the latter to the double reverse gear of thepresent invention.

As an example, it is assumed that a compound locomotive is representedin the drawmgs. It is equipped with a double poweroperated reverse gear,comprising motors 4, 5, whose cross-heads are connected by links6, 7, tothe usual rocker-arms 8, 9,-fr01n which the valve motions of the highand low pressure engines of the locomotive'may be adjusted in the'usualmanner. Cylinders of the two engines are indicated, in Fig. 4, by thereference letters A and B while portions of the associated valvemechanisms are somewhat diagramatically indicatedat C and D. The motors4, 5, are controlled from the locomotive cab 10 through reach-rods 12,13, connected to the upper ends of the floating valveoperating levers14, 15, and are provided wth follow-up connections 16, 17, from theircross-head's to the lower ends of said levers 14, 15. In the cab 10, therods 12, 13, are connected to control'm'echanism 19, shown as manuallyoperated.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the control mech anism 19 comprises amainhandle'ver'20provided with a hand latch 21' for'coop'e'ration with atoothed quadrant 22, so that-it may be stably set in' anydesiredposition, from full gear forward to full gear backing. In Fig. 2,this lever 20 is shown inneutral or mid gear position. In the presentinstance, this main lever 20 is fast to one end of a short shaft 23suitably journalled in a sleeve 24 of a main supporting bracket casting25, that also carries the quadrant 22. Fast to the other end of theshaft 23 is a leveror arm 26, to which the rod 12 for the valve motionof the high pressure engine'is connected by a pivot bolt 27 By operationof this main leve'r20, therefore, the valvernotion ofthe high-pressui'eengine maybe adjusted and set as usual.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the rod 13 for and its sector 32 may movebodily withthe main lever 20; so that whenever the valve motion of thehigh pressure engine is adjusted, that of the low" pressure engine iscorrespondingly adjusted. In addition, the low pressure valve motion canbe adjusted (to a limited extent) with reference to the high pressurevalve motion, by adj usting'the lever 30 forward or backward along thesector 32. Thus, the cut-off of the low-pressure engine can be madeeither earlier or later than that of the high-pressure enginebypractically any amount desired, as may be necessary to give the bestefliciency under various conditions. Once it has been determined byadjust-ment of the lever 30, however, this cutoff differential will beautomatically maintained. in the. subsequent adjustment ofthehigh-pressure cut-off by the main lever 20}, because the adjustment ofthe low pressure valve motion is automatically correlated Withthat ofthe high pressure valve motion by the latch and sector connections 31,32.

The advantages of such a double adjustment may be made clearer by thefollowing considerations.

. If conditions are such that the high pressure engine can mostadvantageously be run on'a short cut-oil, then the amount of steamreaching the receiver between the high and low pressure cylinders willbe smaller than for a longer cut-off; so that in order to keep up thereceiver pressure and prevent it from dropping below atmospheric, thelow pressure engine may and can be operated on a short-er cut-off thanthe high pressure engine. When, onthe other hand, the high pressureengine is operated on a long cut-off, the amount of steamreaching thereceiver may be so great as to make it advisable to operate the lowpressure engine on an even longer cut-off, in order to prevent anexcessive pressure from buildingup in the receiver.

Thus, it will be seen, my invention allows the high pressure engine tobe operated in the manner best suited to its own requirements, withoutany consideration for the low pressure engine, which can always beoperated in the way that will utilize the steam supplyfrom the highpressure engine most advantageously.

Similarly, with practically identical equipment,it,is possible with myinvention to control the cut-offs of a.double engine so that one set ofcylinders canbe operated at a cutoil different from that of the other,as may best suit the conditions obtaining at the moment;

I claim:

1. A reverse gear equipment for locomotives having two sets of cylinderswith separate valve motions, comprising a main hearing, a shaftjournalled in said bearing, a lever carriedby said shaft, an arm alsocarried by said shaft, a second lever pivotally supported upon said armand arranged for angular adjustment with respect to said firstmentionedlever, and a pair of valve-setting rods respectively connected to saidarm and to said second lever.

2. A reverse gear equipment for locomotives having two sets of cylinderswith separate valve motions comprising a main bearing, a shaftjournalled in said bearing, a lever carried by said shaft, an arm alsocarried by said shaft, a second lever pivotally supported upon saidarmand arranged for angularadjustment with respect to saidfirstmentioned lever, a pair of valve-setting rods respectivelyconnected to said arm and to said second lever, and means carried bysaid hearing and operatively associated with said firstmentioned leverfor maintaining both of said levers in adjusted position.

3. In a locomotive having two sets of cylinders with separate valvemotions the combination of a reverse lever, an arm moving therewith, alever adjustably pivoted to sald arm and meansfor connecting the armwith one of the valve motions and the second mentioned lever withthe'other valve motion.

4. In a locomotive having two sets of cylinders with separate valvemotions the combination of a reverse lever, an arm moving therewith,alever adjustably pivoted to said arm and means for connecting thearmwith one of the valve motions and the second mentioned lever with theother valve motion invalve motion, together with means for retainingsaid reverse lever and the arm in adjusted position.

6. In a locomotive having two sets of cylinders with separate valvemotions. the combination of a manually operable valve motion reversingmember, means connecting said member with one of said motions, a levercarried by and adjustable with respect tosaid member and meansconnecting said lever with the other of said motions.

7. In a locomotive having two sets of cylinders with separate valvemotions the combination of a manually operable valve motion reversingmember, means connecting said member with one of said motions, a'levercarried by and adjustable with respect to said member and meansconnecting said lever with r the other of said motions, said connectingmeans including a pair of power reverse gears.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

JOHN T. CARROLL.

